Estimated Burden of Stroke in China in 2020
Authors: Wen-Jun Tu, Zhenping Zhao, Peng Yin, Lei Cao, Jingsheng Zeng, Huisheng Chen, Dongsheng Fan, Qi Fang, Pei Gao, Yuxiang Gu, Guojun Tan, Jianfeng Han, Li He, Bo Hu, Yang Hua, Dezhi Kang, Hongyan Li, Jianmin Liu, Yuanli Liu, Min Lou, Benyan Luo, Suyue Pan, Bin Peng, Lijie Ren, Lihua Wang, Jian Wu, Yuming Xu, Yun Xu, Yi Yang, Meng Zhang, Shu Zhang, Liangfu Zhu, Yicheng Zhu, Zixiao Li, Lan Chu, Xiuli An, Lingxiao Wang, Meng Yin, Mei Li, Li Yin, Wei Yan, Chuan Li, Junli Tang, Maigeng Zhou, Longde Wang
Journal: JAMA Network Open (2023)

<h3>Importance</h3> Stroke is the leading cause of death in China. However, recent data about the up-to-date stroke burden in China are limited. <h3>Objective</h3> To investigate the urban-rural disparity of stroke burden in the Chinese adult population, including prevalence, incidence, and mortality rate, and disparities between urban and rural populations. <h3>Design, Setting, and Participants</h3> This cross-sectional study was based on a nationally representative survey that included 676 394 participants aged 40 years and older. It was conducted from July 2020 to December 2020 in 31 provinces in mainland China. <h3>Main Outcomes and Measures</h3> Primary outcome was self-reported stroke verified by trained neurologists during a face-to-face interviews using a standardized protocol. Stroke incidence were assessed by defining first-ever strokes that occurred during 1 year preceding the survey. Strokes causing death that occurred during the 1 year preceding the survey were considered as death cases. <h3>Results</h3> The study included 676 394 Chinese adults (395 122 [58.4%] females; mean [SD] age, 59.7 [11.0] years). In 2020, the weighted prevalence, incidence, and mortality rates of stroke in China were 2.6% (95% CI, 2.6%-2.6%), 505.2 (95% CI, 488.5-522.0) per 100 000 person-years, and 343.4 (95% CI, 329.6-357.2) per 100 000 person-years, respectively. It was estimated that among the Chinese population aged 40 years and older in 2020, there were 3.4 (95% CI, 3.3-3.6) million incident cases of stroke, 17.8 (95% CI, 17.5-18.0) million prevalent cases of stroke, and 2.3 (95% CI, 2.2-2.4) million deaths from stroke. Ischemic stroke constituted 15.5 (95% CI, 15.2-15.6) million (86.8%) of all incident strokes in 2020, while intracerebral hemorrhage constituted 2.1 (95% CI, 2.1-2.1) million (11.9%) and subarachnoid hemorrhage constituted 0.2 (95% CI, 0.2-0.2) million (1.3%). The prevalence of stroke was higher in urban than in rural areas (2.7% [95% CI, 2.6%-2.7%] vs 2.5% [95% CI, 2.5%-2.6%];<i>P</i> = .02), but the incidence rate (485.5 [95% CI, 462.8-508.3] vs 520.8 [95% CI, 496.3-545.2] per 100 000 person-years;<i>P</i> &lt; .001) and mortality rate (309.9 [95% CI, 291.7-328.1] vs 369.7 [95% CI, 349.1-390.3] per 100 000 person-years;<i>P</i> &lt; .001) were lower in urban areas than in rural areas. In 2020, the leading risk factor for stroke was hypertension (OR, 3.20 [95% CI, 3.09-3.32]). <h3>Conclusions and Relevance</h3> In a large, nationally representative sample of adults aged 40 years or older, the estimated prevalence, incidence, and mortality rate of stroke in China in 2020 were 2.6%, 505.2 per 100 000 person-years, and 343.4 per 100 000 person-years, respectively, indicating the need for an improved stroke prevention strategy in the general Chinese population.